Japanese knotweed

Fallopia japonica

Overview

Habitat:wide range of conditions, including full shade, high temperatures, high salinity and drought. It is found near water sources, such as along river banks, low-lying and disturbed areas. It can colonize coastal shores and islands.

Description: This is a relatively large plant that can grow up to 2 – 3 m in height and can dominate an area to the exclusion of most other plants. It can form an extensive network of rhizomes (roots) which cause problems when managing this species. Small pieces of rhizomes are capable of rejuvenating the plant. The rhizomes also allow the plant to survive over winter when the over ground conspicuous leafy part of the plant dies back to a brown wasted stem.
The leaves are shield or heart shaped usually with a pale stripe down the middle. Flowers are creamy and arise from the tips of stems.
Some useful resources to download;

Origin and Distribution:A native of Japan, Korea, Taiwan and China where both male and female plants are known. This species is now widespread in continental Europe and Britain but only female plants have been recorded to date.

Impacts:F. japonica is a threat in open and riparian areas where it speads rapidly to form dense stands, excluding native vegetation and prohibiting regeneration. This reduces species diversity and alters habitat for wildlife. Once stands become established, they are extremely persistent and difficult to remove.
Japanese Knotweed is also of concern to developers and private citizens. This plant has the ability to grow through tarmac and concrete, although only if a weakness already exists and therefore must be cleared completely before starting to build or lay roads.

How did it get here? The date of first introduction to Ireland is not know for certain. It is believed that this plant arrived in the mid to late 1800’s. Regardless of the date of introduction, this plant has spread from gardens into the environment and is now a pest species.

Where is it found in Ireland? Japanese Knotweed is very common right across Ireland. It occurs in numerous different types of habitats from road sides to river corridors to waste ground in urban areas.

Do make a start straightaway to deal with Japanese knotweed growing on your property. The longer you leave dealing with it, the more Japanese knotweed there will be to deal with!

Don’t just cut the plant down and try to cover it up. Apart from being highly irresponsible, the problem could come back to haunt you when the plant regrows. If you have sold the house, there could be a legal claim against you.
NIEA would add;

Don’tcut down and/or dig up the plant and put it in the local authority compost collection. This would be breaking the law and Japanese knotweed rhizome is not necessarily killed by the composting process, part of which is to break up the material into small fragments, thereby potentially exacerbating the risk of spread.

Don’tcontact the Environment Agency, SEPA, Natural Resources Wales, National Parks & Wildlife Services or the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to provide advice on your specific situation or to recommend a suitable contractor. They are not able to advise on each and every case and are restricted from recommending contractors.

Under article 15 of the Wildlife (Northern Ireland) Order 1985, it is an offence to plant or otherwise cause to grow in the wild Japanese knotweed or any other invasive plant listed in Part II of schedule 9 to that Order.

However, it is not actually an offence to have Japanese Knotweed present on your land - landowners also have rights with respect to their private property and what they can ‘grow’ in their gardens. Nor does the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985 include offences for the natural spread of an invasive species from one area to another. But there is perhaps a community expectation within society that owners of property and land look after such assets responsibly.

At present, there is no statutory mechanism (by any statutory body) to compel an owner or an occupier of premises or land to control invasive alien species such as Japanese knotweed or to permit others to carry out control measures without an owner or occupier’s consent.

Where species such as Japanese knotweed are spreading from one property to another it constitutes a civil matter between the two landowners.

It is important to highlight that, in both national and EU legislation, DAERA's policy context towards all IAS is one to assist protect the ecology of an area as opposed to safeguarding property or other commercial assets.

Homeowners should seek advice from organisations such as the the Property Care Association who have the relevant expertise to advise on such civil cases.

A landowner would only be guilty of an offence if they were to remove the knotweed from the site in an inappropriate way, in other words not using properly licensed hauliers and landfill facilities, but that would be an offence under waste legislation not wildlife

If a landowner is disposing of knotweed, or any other 'controlled waste', by cuttings or by excavationThe Waste and Contaminated Land (Northern Ireland) Order 1997 (as amended) is relevant. This legislation places a duty of care on “anyone who produces, collects, carries, keeps, treats or disposes of controlled waste to take all the necessary steps to keep it safe and to prevent it from causing harm, especially to the environment or to human health

If a member of the public were to suspect an offence under the Wildlife (NI) Order 1985 was taking place, then they must call the PSNI on 101 and report it.
N.B. Remember this would only be relevant to an incident actually happening in the present, not an historical or anecdotal occurrence.

Legislation: Ireland (Republic of Ireland);The National Biodiversity Data Centre has produced a frequently asked questions guide for Japanese Knotweed in Ireland;Q: Is Japanese knotweed a regulated species in Ireland?Yes, under Regulation 49(2) any person who plants, disperses, allows or causes to disperse, spreads or otherwise causes to grow Japanese knotweed or any of the other invasive plants listed in the Third Schedule of the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations, 2011 (S.I. No. 477 of 2011) shall be guilty of an offence. Furthermore, Sections52(7) and (8) of the Wildlife Act, 1976, as amended, make it an offence to plant or otherwise cause to grow in a wild state exotic species of plants.You can access the rest of the FAQs here -Japanese Knotweed FAQs Ireland